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Warning to dual citizens: Travelling with a foreign passport may make it tough to come home to Canada.

What happened to a Milton family returning from a summer holiday in Florida on Air Canada offers a cautionary tale for Canadians who use a foreign passport when travelling outside the country.

Wael Ghali, his wife Mira Wassef, and their sons, Michael and Youssef, had no idea when they visited Universal Studios during a 10-day vacation in Florida that they'd be denied boarding on a plane back to Canada, where they are brand new citizens. (FAMILY PHOTO)

Canadian citizens Wael Ghali, his wife, Mira Wassef, and their teenage boys, Michael and Youssef, were stuck in the Tampa airport after an Air Canada agent refused to let them board their flight because she didn’t accept their Egyptian passports and photo citizenship certificates as valid documents to re-enter Canada.

“We’d called the Canada Border Services Agency before we left for Florida and we were told it’d be totally fine,” said Ghali, an English teacher from Egypt, who moved here in 2008 and took the oath with his family at a citizenship ceremony days before leaving for the 10-day trip on July 1. “We did our diligence.”

In normal circumstances, permanent residents who have yet to become Canadian citizens must travel with passports from their country of origin, plus what’s called a PR (permanent resident) card issued by Ottawa, as proof that they can legally stay in Canada and do not need a visa.

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However, when someone becomes a Canadian citizen, the PR card is taken away — as was the case for the Ghali family — and coming home to Canada may become a problem with a foreign passport unaccompanied by a visitor’s visa.

Ghali, 45, said the family had booked their vacation in March and were notified about their citizenship test later. They were scheduled for their citizenship ceremony on June 24, leaving them less than five business days to apply for a Canadian passport.

To avoid incurring additional costs — $857 — for an urgent pickup of four Canadian passports, Ghali contacted border officials for assurance that their Egyptian passports, in combination with their new citizenship certificates, would get them back to Canada.

Air Canada’s website makes no reference to dual citizens travelling on a non-Canadian passport, but a spokesperson said the PR card provides proof of immigration status, and without it, passengers will not be able to board.

“Like other worldwide airlines, Air Canada utilizes information regarding travel document acceptance provided in a central system called TIMATIC which contains instructions from various governments,” Air Canada spokesperson Angela Mah said in an email.

“Passengers travelling with Egyptian passports are required to have a valid visa or PR card to return to Canada by commercial carrier. . .We have separately confirmed with CBSA this is correct.”

According to the Canadian government’s website, international air travelers are required to have a valid passport. Among the valid supplemental government-issued identification documents are a provincial health card, permanent resident card, driver’s licence and citizenship certificate.

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Despite the family’s protests that they were citizens, they say the Air Canada agent insisted that “you must also have a Canadian visa or a PR Card, because the PR card is a proof that you can stay in Canada and the citizenship certificate does not guarantee that you can stay in Canada.”

Ghali then called CBSA, who told the family the agency had no authority to compel airline officials to let them board the flight. However, border officials said they would let them into Canada if they arrived at the border.

Eventually, the family spent an extra $1,200 on two indirect flights from Tampa to Atlanta, then Buffalo, where they rented a car to get back to Canada on July 11.

Air Canada said it would get in touch with the family and refund their unused tickets.

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